Let's Give Them Something to Talk About
by dvmcas1
Summary: After the Ravens party in season 1.Haley is mad at Nate and Luke is mad at Peyton.Brooke wants to appease her karma and fix the drama she caused but instead of making a mystery date for Naley...she has another interesting proposition
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1(Haley) 

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About

I wiped off the messy tables, wishing instead that I could wipe away the memories left over from last night. For lunch Karen's Café had been busy and I'd been able to sink into the crowd's rush and forget about what Nathan had done. Now it all was coming rushing back to me. He'd proven to be exactly the guy that everyone had told me he was. After all the tutoring help that I'd given him, he had betrayed me. Showing that note to everyone at the party and making fun of my growing crush on him was way out of line. He'd come by to apologize last night but I'd turned out the lights and flipped the "Open" sign to "Closed". And I was…there was no way my heart was going to be open to him anymore.

I heard the front bell tingle, announcing another customer. I looked up, hoping to see Lucas there to comfort me but instead I saw Brooke Davis. _Bitch_, I thought. How dare she come here after what she'd said last night?

I flung down my towel on the table, "We're closed."

She looked around like the dumb cheerleader she was, obviously confused. Her brow furrowed when she saw several people sitting there eating, "But….Oh I get it. Closed to me, right?"

"Yeah, exactly. Guess Nathan wasn't the only person who could use a tutor. Unfortunately I don't tutor the 'How Not to Be a Bitch' class."

She smiled, "You're fiery. I can see why he likes you."

I snorted, picked up the dirty plates, and headed back behind the counter. Sadly enough she didn't take the hint and followed me.

"Haley, I get you're pissed. I was kind of out of line last night."

I shot her a glare. _Ya think?_

She held up her hands in a placating motion, "But…I'm going to fix it, ok? I need to set my karma straight."

I rolled my eyes. There was no way she could fix this.

Still she kept on talking, "Soooo. I screwed you and Nathan up but I'm pretty sure that I didn't help Peyton and Luke make any headway either. What we need is to catch two birds with one stone."

"Kill…kill two birds with one stone, Brooke. Not catch."

She gave me a confused look, "Why would I want to kill birds? Weird. Whatever." She sat on one of the counter stools and leaned forward, like we were actually having a real conversation, instead of her just blabbing when I wished she'd leave.

"So what can I do to get you, Tutor Girl, back with your Jockey Guy? And Broody back with P. Sawyer…all at the same time."

I shrugged, this really was pointless, "I don't know, Brooke. Maybe you shouldn't have messed with all of us to begin with. Or maybe you should just go Brooke yourself because no one else wants to."

"I totally get your point even though it's a little hostile. Maybe retract the claws, just a smidge and listen to how I'm going to help you guys because I totally just got a brilliant, mastermind sort of plan."

She motioned with her finger for me to come closer and I leaned forward.

Her voice was soft, like she was telling me a secret, "Ok…so everyone gets jealous right?"

I looked over at her strangely. Where the heck was this going?

"You totally need to hang out with some other guy and make Nate jealous. That way when he wants you back…and he will, trust me. He'll treat you with the respect you deserve."

"Brooke! I'm not even sure I want Nathan back (as if I even had him) and I certainly wouldn't hang out with another guy just to piss Nathan off!"

She pouted, "Haaaaalleeey. Why not?"

"Because I couldn't use some guy like that. It might hurt his feelings."

"Oh but you could see yourself making Nate jealous…you don't have any problem with that?"

I shrugged, kind of ashamed. It would be kind of nice to see exactly how much Nathan liked me and how much he would be willing to fight for me. "I guess that part of your plan doesn't really bother me."

She smiled, "Well then…the guy that you use to make Nathan jealous wouldn't get his feelings hurt if he knew what was going on and he agreed to do it."

"Yeah right…who would agree to sort of date me in order to make some other guy jealous?"

Just then the door tinkled again and I saw Luke walking in. He sounded angry as he said, "Ok, Brooke. I'm here even though I don't want to be. What was this 'all important' thing you had to ask me?"

He looked at her. She looked at me, then back at him. He looked at me. I looked at him.

Brooke smiled in the middle of it all. "Tutor Girl meet your new boyfriend…Broody."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2(Lucas)

Must Be Dreaming

"_Tutor Girl meet your new boyfriend…Broody."_

_What?_ I looked over at Haley, hoping for some sort of answer but she looked just as confused as me.

Haley put her hands on her hips, "Really, Brooke? That's your master plan? It's the most ridiculous thing ever!"

"Haley! It so isn't! It's brilliant."

"Yeah, right. This would never, ever work."

"You just don't have the imagination I have."

"Are you sure? Because right now I can imagine a lot. Like tossing you out of here on your ass. Or maybe hitting you with a car. Or maybe…"

"Haley." She looked over at me because I'd interrupted her 'imagining'. "What the heck is going on? Someone want to fill me in?"

Brooke turned around to face me and stuck her tongue out at Haley in the same motion, "Well, Luke. You would do anything for Haley, right? To make her happy?"

I furrowed my brows but it was true. I would do anything for my Hales, "Of course…but what am I going to have to do?"

"Well…who does Nathan hate more than anyone?"

I shrugged, "Dan?"

She clucked her tongue, "My God! This is like spoon feeding babies! No, he hates you, completely and totally."

I chuckled, "Yeah he hates me…so what? I'm definitely not the guy's biggest fan."

Brooke smiled, "I have a way you can get under his skin and be like…a boil…or whatever. And you can totally help Haley at the same time. It's like catching two birds with one…net."

She turned and looked at Haley who smiled and said, "Well at least that metaphor works better than the last one."

I snapped my fingers, getting impatient. If something was going on…they needed to hurry up and tell me. "Brooke…please get to the point."

"Fine. Don't get huffy. I think you both have an anger management problem. In fact now that I think about it, you two are usually just brooding together. Guys, you seriously need to get out and just go to the club or something…get crazy…"

Haley and I both let out a huge sigh at the same time. Brooke glared at both of us. She went off on random tangents all the time.

She held up a finger, "Don't interrupt…rude. Anways…like I was saying. You guys should pretend to be dating around Nate and Peyton. Then, Lucas, Peyton will see she's losing you and be ready for that deep commitmenty thing you were talking about. And Haley, Nate will see you with Lucas, his arch enemy, and when you're ready to reel him back in, he'll come back to you, grateful and groveling."

That was Brooke's big plan? That we pretend to date to make Nate and Peyton jealous? My first gut instinct was that it would never work…but would it? People used to think that Haley and I dated anyways. We spent almost everyday together too. How much harder would it be to convince them we were dating? I usually didn't like playing dating games but I'd tried being honest and straightforward with Peyton and she'd run. Maybe if she saw competition, she'd come running to me and not from me. Plus, it would help Haley get what she wanted, even though I hated the thought of her with Nathan. I hated the thought of Haley with anyone actually but maybe if I made Nathan jealous enough he'd finally stop being an ass and realize that he had to treat her right. Or if I treated her like a proper girlfriend, she'd realize that she could move on and find someone better than Nate. This could actually work.

"I'm in." Haley and Brooke both looked up at me sharply.

Haley looked at me, "B…but Luke…"

I smiled, "I'm in Hales. You're my best friend. If Nate is who you want, then I'm gonna help you get that. I know you better than anyone, it wouldn't be that weird. We're already really close anyways."

She looked completely opposed to the idea but I could see temptation creeping into her eyes. She wanted to do this but she didn't think she should. I walked over to her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Hales…We don't have to agree on this now. How about we try it tomorrow at school? Nothing dramatic. Hold hands in the hallway, sit together at lunch, hug, and maybe if Nathan's watching…I'll kiss your cheek. We'll see how it works or if it's weird. If there's a problem, then we'll just stop, k?"

Like I said, I knew Haley. She hated just jumping into things but if she could dip her toes slowly in the water then she'd feel more confident about going under. I saw the battle within her eyes weaken and dim.

She held up a finger in my face, "Ok…fine. Just one day. If it sucks, we'll stop."

I smiled. Brooke clapped her hands and jumped up and down, "So much fun!" I rolled my eyes and squeezed Haley tight. She groaned but hugged me back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3(Haley)

Holiday From Real

"Lucas! Answer this damn door! I'm cold!" I stood outside of Lucas' door, the early morning wind cutting straight through my sweater. I heard Lucas groaning inside and then a crashing noise, followed by a few curses. Eventually though, the door swung open to reveal a dazed looking, shirt-less Lucas Scott. He was wearing sweat pants and his hair was all sticking out on one side.

He blinked several times at the harsh sunlight, "Hales…what the heck are you doing?"

I brushed past his body to go into his room and get out of the cold. He shut the door and turned to look at me. "Well? Haley, dude…it's like seven in the morning. What are you doing?"

I sat down on his bed, "What am I doing? What are you doing? Go put a shirt on, you're not at Chippendale's. I refuse to talk to you in a half-naked state."

Luke sighed and walked over to his dresser to find a T-shirt. Sure, Lucas had been my best friend since we were like nine years old and I'd seen him plenty of times without a shirt on during all those years. But now he'd passed that gangly, gawky teenage faze and actually had muscles. Seeing muscles on my best friend and appreciating how nice they looked, on some level made me feel weird. It was just better for all involved if he put a shirt on.

After he was decent, Lucas came and sat down on the bed next to me. He lifted up one of his feet and rubbed his shin where a light blue bruise was forming. "You see that, Haley? Waking me up at this hour. You made me bang my leg. It hurts."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Yeah, wah wah, poor baby."

He lifted his foot all the way in the air and pushed it towards my face. "Wanna kiss it and make it better?"

"Aagh! Lucas Eugene Scott, get your nasty ass foot out of my face!"

He just shoved it closer to me of course so I had to take defensive actions. I grabbed the foot he was pushing towards me and started tickling the bottom. Lucas squealed like a girl and squirmed to get it away from me without braining me in the face. He grabbed my sides and started tickling me too. I gave a little shriek and fell back on the bed, squirming in all directions, trying to get out of his grasp. Lucas hovered over me, tickling with no mercy. I was reaching up and tickling him back and everything seemed normal, we were having fun, but then he stopped. Just stopped. I stopped a second after. I blinked my eyes to clear the tears from them and looked up at my best friend. He was staring down at me with a weird look on his face. His eyes caught me and held me in some sort of a trance. The only sound in the room was our breathing. I couldn't move. I was terrified of how we were looking at one another but I was also terrified to look away.

"Lucas! You up?" I heard Karen calling Luke from the hallway. And just like that the moment was gone, lost in the room like it never had been to begin with. Lucas pushed himself off me so fast; you'd think I was burning him.

"Uh…Yeah, mom. I'm up." His voice came out kind of rough and he was looking everywhere but at me.

_This was hella awkward_. I got off his bed and cleared my throat. "So I came by to see if we were still doing this thing today."

Lucas looked like a person who'd been about to fall and had just been handed a lifeline, "Um. Sure that sounds fine."

I walked over to him, "We need to work out some ground rules though, since you're a perv and all."

Lucas smiled, "What kind of rules?"

I held up my hand, counting off my fingers as I named them, "One: If your tongue comes anywhere near mine, I'm never talking to you again. Two: If either one of us wants to stop, we stop. No questions asked. Three: We only 'put on the love act' when someone is there to see us and it serves a purpose. Meaning no holding hands or anything when it's not going to get back to Nathan or Peyton." So far he'd been nodding his head along with my rules.

"Sounds fine to me."

I held up another finger, "I got one more. This one's a whopper." I grimaced, not even wanting to bring this up. "There are no feelings involved. None. Other than friendship of course." I hesitated, trying to judge his reaction. Was he going to be mad that I laid down this rule or worse, would he laugh at me even suggesting that feelings could happen?

Lucas rubbed his cheek with one hand and then stuck it out for me to shake, "Deal."

I smiled and placed my hand in his larger one, "Deal. Now go get dressed before we're late for our first day of school as boyfriend and girlfriend."

We walked to school the way we always did, joking and talking with one another. As soon as we got near Tree Hill High, I felt my chest clenching up though. This wasn't going to be normal. Pretending to be Luke's girlfriend? What had I even been thinking?

As if he could read my thoughts, Lucas wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into his warmth and away from the cold autumn breeze. He kept holding me, even when we walked into the school and to our lockers. Our lockers were right near each other, which both of us had been really glad of at the beginning of the year.

"How are my two new favorite lovebirds?" Luke and I both turned around to see Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer walking towards us. Brooke's voice sounded way to chipper for the morning time. I saw Peyton blanch at what Brooke said but she didn't seem surprised. Brooke must have laid down the groundwork for us.

Lucas looked at Peyton, "Ummm. Hey Peyton."

"Hey, Luke."

Welp…it was time to start earning my keep. I slid over to Lucas and interlaced our fingers. I think I surprised him but he kept his composure. Peyton's gaze immediately sank down to our locked hands and I saw anger quickly pass through her eyes.

"I gotta get to class, see ya Brooke." With that Peyton strode off down the hallway. I smiled, she shouldn't be mad; she's the one who'd given up on Luke.

A sly smile crossed Brooke's face. "Way to go Tutor Girl, this is totally going to work. I'm a genius! Feel free to kiss my shoes later." With that she flounced off down the hallway after Peyton.

Lucas turned towards me, "Walk you to English, girlfriend?"

I laughed, "Why I'd be delighted, boyfriend." We walked off down the hallway, me barely even noticing we were still holding hands.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4(Lucas)

The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

During all my classes, my mind was spinning. The way Peyton had looked at Haley earlier. The way Haley had looked beneath me this morning. The way her hand had felt in mine. The way I had hungered for the anger reflected in Peyton's eyes. Everything seemed to be getting confused in my mind. I wanted Peyton back but I also wanted to hurt her, that didn't seem like the nice guy I thought I was. Using Haley to get her back didn't seem very nice either.

The final bell rang, startling me from my thoughts. Finally this day was over. I walked quickly towards the gym, needing some basketball therapy to stop me from stressing. I pushed my way through the mass of students in the hall into the locker room. Changing quickly, I threw my other clothes into my locker and spun the lock. That's when Nathan walked in. At seeing his face, intense rage swept through me. He looked up at me and our eyes locked. Nathan shook his head and turned his back to me.

"You're an ass for treating Haley that way." I spit out. He turned back around and glared at me again.

"Whatever man, it's none of your business." I strode over to him and got in his face.

"Now, that's where you're wrong. It is my business."

"Lucas, back off man before I smash your ugly ass face in."

Jake came up behind me and grabbed my arm and pulled me away, "Luke man, he's not worth it. Let it go."

I moved away from Nathan and he turned around again. I shrugged Jake's arm off and walked into the gym. Once here I felt an intense calm wash over me. Here, I knew who I was. I was Lucas Scott, basketball player. When that ball was in my hands, I felt like the world all made sense. Life wasn't so hard; all that mattered was putting that ball through that hoop.

I grabbed a basketball off the rack and tossed it up. I heard the familiar sounding swish and I felt my stress just melt away. Here, I was actually good at something and even if it was just for game night, I mattered to the people at this school.

I felt a finger tap my shoulder and turned around to see none other than Brooke Davis.

"Hey Broody." She winked at me and gave that familiar smirk. "I told Haley to swing by since of course it would never occur to you two."

At that I heard the gym doors slam open and looked over to see Haley. She fumbled with the doors and almost dropped her books but she caught them and in doing so, her purse slid off her arm and clattered to the floor. I heard her sigh and trotted over to help her out. She bent down and reached for her purse at the same time I did and we almost had a collision. Haley glanced up, obviously surprised by my closeness.

"Oh…hey Luke." Her voice sounded breathless and her soft brown eyes bored into mine. She stood up and so did I. I stood, like I was frozen in time. It was me and it was Haley. I felt her purse in my hand, I smelled her perfume, I saw the slight smile on her lips. I heard wolf-whistles coming from some of the guys.

"Hey Luke! That purse matches your lipstick!" I looked back at the smirking Tim Smith. I shook my head and handed Haley's purse back to her. Her cheeks flushed, from all the attention, I guess.

I wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Hales. This is the price of being a famous basketball player's girlfriend. Unwanted attention."

She stepped out of my arms and looked surprised, "Oh my God…look at that!"

I looked down at myself, "What? What's wrong?"

"You're head has physically gotten bigger. It's amazing. Complete science miracle."

I laughed, "Alright…alright." I heard the guys starting to break off in teams for practice. "Well Haley. I have to go. My precious work demands it. Stick around; we'll go do something when I'm done, k?"

She smiled, "You mean play the doting submissive girlfriend who waits around for her man?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean."

She scoffed, "I'm waiting but not because of some patriarchal demands but because Attack of the 50ft Woman is playing and I wish you to accompany me."

"Sure, sounds great." With that I trotted off and joined the game. I kept jumping high and making half-court shots, hoping to show Haley how well I could play but every time I looked over at her, she had her nose buried in a book. Oh well, that was my Haley.

I managed not to kill Nathan during practice and he managed to stay out of my way. Afterwards I ran to the locker room to shower and change but I noticed that Nathan hadn't followed. At the door to the locker room I paused and watched him slowly saunter over to Haley.

She looked up from her book to see him standing over her. Even though I was half-way across the gym, I could still hear Nathan's deep voice.

"Hey Haley."

I saw her mouth move but couldn't quite make out what she said.

He sat down next to her and they looked deep in conversation. Feeling something like disgust coursing through me, I went into the locker room to change.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5(Haley)

Let Me Fall

"Hey Haley." That deep voice that I would recognize anywhere made me look up from Pride and Prejudice.

"Hi, Nathan." I shut the book and stared down at my feet. Nathan sat down on the bleachers next to me and suddenly I was very aware of how close we were.

He brushed his hand nervously through his short, cropped, black hair. "Ummmm…Haley, I want to apologize again. But you have to believe me, I didn't know about the note. Do you believe me?"

I shrugged, "Sure."

He smiled, "Well…okay then. We're cool?"

I shook my head, "No, Nathan, we're not."

"But you just said…"

I held up a hand, cutting him off, "I know what I just said. The truth is, that incident at your house just brought up everything that had been building."

"Am I supposed to follow this?"

"Well the truth is, this could never work and I was an idiot for even thinking it could."

With that I got up to leave but he grabbed my hand. Heat blossomed in my hand and I jerked it away from his, not wanting to be burned. He grabbed it again and pulled me towards him. He looked up at me because he was still sitting.

"Haley, this isn't stupid. Us, together, that isn't stupid. In fact I think that's the smartest thing I've ever heard of. I really like you, Haley. I think you know that. I know I'm not perfect but I can be better, I promise. I can become the guy you need. I want to be that guy for you."

Something in my stomach flipped and I felt a flush reach my cheeks because of how he was looking at me and how his thumb was rubbing the back of my hand. I saw a smile start on his face, so obviously he saw the effect he was having.

The sound of a cough coming from behind me broke the spell and I pulled my hand away from Nathan, like a kid caught doing something bad. I turned to see Lucas standing there. His hair was still wet and his T-shirt was sticking to his wet body.

He cleared his throat again and stared at me, "Ready to go?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice to talk. Lucas reached over and took my book bag from my hand and put it over his shoulder. He turned and started to walk away and I followed him.

"Haley!" I turned at the sound of Nathan calling me. Lucas stopped walking and came back to me. He stood directly behind me, the hardness of his wet body, pressed against my back.

Nathan stood up, "We weren't done talking, Lucas."

I felt Lucas tense behind me but I spoke up, "I'm done talking, Nathan."

Clearly Nathan was frustrated and his voice came out low and angry, "Why the hell did you even come to practice today to see me, if you didn't want to get back with me?"

The anger in his voice frightened me but Lucas put a warm hand on my shoulder. "She didn't come here to see you, Nate. She's here with me. She's with me."

I saw shock course through Nathan, "Bullshit….Haley?"

"It's true." My voice came out so soft, it's a wonder that he even heard it but he did. Nathan seemed to deflate like a balloon and sadness covered his whole face. For that one second he seemed like such a lost little kid that I wanted to go comfort him but then the second was gone.

His face screwed up angrily, "Screw this." Then he turned and walked away.

I let out a huge sigh. That had been really intense. Lucas patted my shoulder, "Come on, Hales. Let's go."

I turned to follow him and we walked out of the school. We walked in comfortable silence almost all the way to the movie theater. When finally I asked, "Do you think we took that too far, Luke?"

He looked down at me, his fair blonde hair already dry in the autumn breeze, "What do you mean?"

"Well, the whole point was to make our significant others want to be with us. Nathan was just asking if he could be with me. Like, we had a way out of this crazy dating scenario but we didn't take it."

"Maybe I'm not looking for an out." I barely caught what he said because he said it so softly but I'll never forget it. He kept walking and for a second I stood in place, shocked by what I'd just heard. When he realized I wasn't with him, Lucas turned around with a soft smile on his face, "Come on, Hales…we're going to be late for the movie."

I nodded, numbly and started walking again. Lucas bought our tickets and we walked into the dark theater. We were the only people in there and never has such a huge room felt so intimate. Instead of paying attention to the screen, I was extremely aware of the boy sitting next to me. I was aware when Lucas leaned in to whisper, "Great movie idea," in my ear. I was aware when his leg grazed mine. I was aware when his hand accidentally touched mine on the armrest we shared. I was aware how fast he jerked away. I was aware how he clenched his jaw and how he balled that hand into a fist. I was aware.

When the lights came up in the theater, it seemed like days had past and like the hour and a half had flown by, all at the same time. Lucas gathered our empty popcorn box and drinks and chucked them in the trash and we walked out the door.

It was already dark when we got outside. Lucas and I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, unsure how to leave things. Finally Lucas said, "I'll walk you home."

I shook my head; I seriously needed time to think, "No, Luke, that's alright. I'm a big girl. I can get home by myself."

He smiled, "I know that. I just….well, want to walk you home."

I made like I was checking my watch, "No, Karen's probably waiting on you for dinner. I'll be fine." With that I turned and walked away. I heard him calling my name from behind me but I kept walking and he didn't follow.

Luckily my feet knew the way home because my mind was elsewhere. Oh. My. God. Did I like Lucas Scott? THE Lucas Scott? My best friend, practically brother Lucas Scott? What was worse, this seemed like more than a little crush. He hadn't even touched me more than usual or kissed me and still he made me feel more than I've ever felt before. He made me feel as if I'd been asleep until this morning and when we'd had that moment on his bed, I'd just woken up.

My heart clenched up and I felt out of breath. This couldn't be happening. Nathan. His name meant close to nothing to me anymore. Sure, he'd hurt my feelings but I felt no more hurt than I would if a friend made me mad. It wasn't a jilted lover type of feeling. How fickle was I? Just a few days ago, I was crushing mad over Nathan but now I felt that for Lucas.

Memories of my best times flashed through my head. Lucas tickling me. Lucas laughing with me. Lucas comforting me. Lucas teaching me how to drive. Lucas giving me his last cookie at lunch. Lucas punching some boy that had been teasing me. Lucas bringing me soup when I was sick. Lucas hugging me. Lucas. Lucas. Lucas.

Damn it.

I was in love with my best friend.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6(Lucas)

Fall To Pieces

I walked home, in the cold, and alone but I've never felt warmer. It was like, until today, the world was painted in black and white and now someone had thrown a bucket of colored paint on it. Everything had more meaning. Like, I'd only been dreaming of life but now I'd finally woken up to find the real thing. Haley. I'd never realized. I'd never even dreamed.

When I got to the house my mom must have wondered what the heck had gotten into me. I was whistling in the hallway and volunteered to do the dishes after dinner. If she noticed the difference though, she didn't say anything. She just gave me a knowing smile and kissed me on the top of the head. "I'm going to bed, Luke. Don't stay up too late."

Even though it was about ten o' clock, I never felt like sleeping again. What if I laid my head down on the pillow and the next morning all this was just a dream. If it was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.

I sat in my room, trying to read, but really I just stared at the pages. Their words kept changing before my eyes. Haley. Her eyes. Her smile. Her warmth. He beautiful mind. Her ugly-ass poncho. I smiled, everything about her pulled me in.

I chuckled out loud.

Damn.

I was in love with my best friend.

A knock on my door startled me from my very sappy thoughts. Haley. It could be her, she was going to confess her love for me, and we were going to be together.

I flung open the door, more excited than I'd ever been in my entire life.

"Hey." Peyton stood there looking at me.

I tried to mask the shock that I felt, "Um. Hey, Peyton. Come on in."

"No, that's ok. I can say what I need to say from right here."

What the heck was going on? "Okay."

She put her hands in her pockets and looked down at my floor. "I saw you with Haley today and it made me realize something. Lucas, when you told me how you felt at the party, I freaked out. I was just thinking about sex and you were talking about a huge emotional commitment."

I held up my hand to stop her, "Peyton…"

She interrupted me, "No, Luke. The truth is, I was scared. I want all the same things you want, I do. And I want them with you."

Tears were glowing in her eyes and pain rippled through me. How was I going to handle this? I'd promised Peyton forever and now I'd have to tell her that forever didn't last as long these days. The words to tell her choked in my throat and my mind went blank except for thoughts of Haley.

I heard Peyton sigh and felt her move closer to me but my mind didn't fathom what she meant to do. She wrapped a hand around the back of my neck and pulled me down into her. Her mouth pressed against mine and for a second I kissed her back. I twined my hands in her hair. Kissing Haley with all the love inside me. Wait, this hair was curly. This was Peyton. I pushed Peyton away from me as soon as I realized what I was doing.

Peyton stared up at me confused, her lips full and red. I looked down at her, my mind whirling. Then I heard a sob come from behind Peyton. I looked up and saw Haley. I saw the hurt on her face. I saw that she'd seen what had just happened. I saw that she didn't understand that it was her. It was always her, never Peyton. I saw the tears in her eyes and I saw her turn and run away.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7(Haley)

Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies

I ran through the cold, dark streets away from Luke's house. Away from his lips upon hers. Away from his warm hands tangled in her hair. Away from her hand around his neck. Away from the way she'd sighed into his kiss. Away from how stupid I'd been.

My breath began to come in short, fast pants and I stopped. Sobbing and breathing in my own pain. I let out a cry of anguish and sank to my knees on the hard asphalt. I placed a useless hand against my chest as if it could massage away the pain blossoming in my heart. It felt like my chest was ripping in half. I leaned over, as if protecting my chest. I stared into the black pavement, at its endless darkness. The pavement might as well have been a mirror. If I'd had the breath, the life in me, I would've screamed into the night, all the hurt that was building up inside me. Instead I crouched there, sobbing, unable for the life of me to move. Unable to even imagine moving again. Luckily no cars came along because if one had, I would've let it roll right over me.

I wanted to curse everyone. Peyton, for kissing Lucas and loving him. Lucas for kissing Peyton and loving her. Nathan for not being the Lucas I needed him to be. Cruel Fate, for making sure that once I realized who my love was, he was taken away from me. Most of all, more than any other…myself, for loving him, for falling for my best friend, the one person in the whole world that I could've given my whole heart too. The one person in the whole world who had the most power to break it.

Lucas. Now that I knew I could never have him, I felt a blinding desire to be as near to him as possible. I needed to go somewhere where he'd always been close. I rose to trembling feet and started my slow march towards Karen's Café.

I reached the dark Café and pulled my ring of keys from my back pocket. I passed by meaningless house keys and held out the key that Karen had given me when I started working for her. I unlocked the door and pushed it inside, all in a numb haze. I climbed the stairs leading to the roof and flicked the huge utility switch on the brick wall. Millions of lights suddenly came to life and brightened the whole dark roof. Strings of Christmas lights. A fake flamingo and a plastic Santa leered at me. I looked around at the golf course that Lucas and I had set up on the Café roof. I sat down on the cold concrete and just stared out at it. I remembered when it had just been me and Lucas against the world. We would come up here after school and spend hours. We would talk, play golf, and have water balloon fights. I smiled through my tears, remembering how sometimes I would fill some of the balloons with milk. This place had always been my escape from the world. Being up here with Lucas, on our fake mini-golf course had been the best comfort that could've been offered.

I stayed up there, I don't know how long. Remembering all the good times that Luke and I had shared made me accept the fact that I might still be able to have him as a friend, if nothing else. Maybe that would be enough. It would have to be enough. I would have to put my feelings for him on a shelf in my heart and then lock them away. Loving Lucas was going to be both the hardest and easiest thing I'd ever done. It felt so natural now, the love I had for him. But tomorrow, I was going to have to go to school, smile and him and Peyton, accept the fact that it would never be me.

"Haley?"

I spun around to see Nathan in the doorway that lead to the roof. I blinked at him a few times because he was the last person I'd ever expected to see. I hastily wiped my wet eyes even though he probably already saw them.

"Nathan? What are you doing here?"

He walked a few steps closer to me, "What are you doing here? It's like midnight, Haley."

I turned back to look at the golf course, "I just needed to think."

I felt him come over and sit down next to me. "Think about what?"

I smiled, "The meaning of life and everything." A quote from one of Lucas' favorite books, The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy. I'd read it too but didn't get the depth that Lucas had gotten from it. He'd told me, 'Hales, all of the world's truths are hidden in shadows or behind humor's smiling face.' Whatever he'd meant by that.

I turned to Nathan who looked really confused. "So what are you doing here, Nathan? You didn't answer me."

He looked at me, sheepishly. "Tim decided I needed a party tonight because I was…a little down. It was just getting started but I needed to get out of there. I left, got in my car, and just drove. I drove past here, saw the lights on in the Café. Saw the lights on up here, which by the way, I could see from like a mile away. You guys got so much shit up here, it's unbelievable."

"So that doesn't explain why you're here."

He shrugged, "Well…I knew that you and Luke come up here sometimes. I came up here, hoping to see you, which I did. By the way you shouldn't have left the door to the Café open. Any crazy could've walked off the street and come up here."

I smiled. Even though tonight was a pretty dark night for me, it felt good to have some company. It helped pull me a little out of my own dark feelings. "So you, being crazy, coming up here is better than just any old crazy?"

He laughed. "Yep, because at least I'm only crazy for you."

I groaned and slapped him on the shoulder, "Oh my God that was horribly cheesy."

He got serious all of a sudden, staring into my eyes, "Yeah, but you look like you could use some cheesy. What happened, Haley? Why were you crying?"

I looked away from his eyes because the concern and hope in them was too much to look at. Nathan reached out and touched my chin, forcing my gaze back to him.

He looked in my eyes again, "Haley, if something is bothering you, I wanna know. You know how I feel about you and whether or not you feel that for me, I still…I still want to be there for you. Just because you don't return my feelings doesn't make them change. So I'm just going to keep on caring about you, whether you like it or not."

I felt new tears well up in my eyes. It would be a lot easier if Nathan was still acting like his old jerky self but he wasn't. I wasn't feeling any pulling on the heart strings but I felt that if I gave Nathan the chance, he could be a great guy and friend. So I nodded, showing him I understood about his feelings. I probably understood more than anyone else could.

"So what happened? Did you and Lucas break up?"

I laughed and a tear slid down my cheek, "No, that wasn't even…that was nothing. We weren't really together."

I saw hope leap into Nathan's eyes, even though he tried to hide it, "Really? So what's wrong?"

My mind spun as I thought up a lie that sounded plausible as to why I was up here on the roof, crying at midnight. "Well, I saw him tonight with Peyton. I mean…he's my best friend so I'm happy for him, you know? Except, now it feels like our friendship could slip away. Like, Lucas and I have always been there for each other. It was us against the world. But now I'm afraid all that will change. He's slipping away, or something. And now that he has someone…I'm afraid to be alone." I was able to put emotion into the last part because I really did feel that way.

Nathan scooted closer to me and put one, warm arm around my shoulders.

He leaned close to me, like he was about to tell me a secret, "You don't have to be alone."

Then he leaned in and placed his lips against mine. I let him. He brushed his knuckles across me cheek in a very loving gesture. I let him. He slid his fingers through my hair. I let him. He glided his tongue across my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I let him. He pulled me close and slid his tongue into my mouth. I kissed him back.


	8. Chapter 8

***A/N-Sorry about the break in updates. I went to Florida for Thanksgiving with my family. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving btw. I promise more updates are coming. Thank you all for the reviews and comments I appreciate them so much!***

Chapter 8(Lucas)

This is how I Disappear

I stood frozen in time. What had I done? I wanted to run after Haley but I couldn't. I wanted to tell her all the words that would make up for kissing Peyton but I couldn't. There weren't any right words. How had things turned out this way?

Peyton stood frozen with me, her heart in her eyes. She glanced at the empty doorway and then back at me, realization dawning in her eyes. She touched my cheek and drew my gaze back to her.

"It's Haley isn't it, Luke. She's the one you love."

Unable to trust my voice I nodded. I felt like my legs were going to collapse from under me so I went and sat down on the edge of my bed. I heard Peyton sob and saw tears pouring down her face. I felt her come and sit next to me, crying. I didn't have any energy to comfort her. I could only focus on how badly I'd screwed things up.

We must have sat that way for about half an hour but I didn't notice. I just sat there, staring at the doorway. Peyton sat next to me, sobbing. Eventually though I heard her stop. I looked over at her to see her wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her black jacket. She pushed her curly, blonde hair out of her face and looked up at me with red rimmed eyes.

I'll always love her for what she said next. She stared at me and smiled a shaky smile.

"I understand, Luke."

Just like that a dam broke inside me. I know boys aren't supposed to cry. I know that we're supposed to be tough but I felt one solitary tear slide down my cheek. I saw it reflected in Peyton's eyes and suddenly more started pouring. Peyton reached out her arms and wrapped them around me. She held me while I cried. She didn't try to rationalize what was going on. She didn't hate me for not loving her. She didn't get mad that I was crying over another girl. She just held me. I tried to let all the hurt pour out of me. I'd betrayed the one person I loved. I'd ruined any chance of happiness I might have had with her. And, I'd lost my best friend.

Finally I sat up and turned away to wipe my eyes, as if she hadn't already seen me crying. Peyton smiled at me and went to get a tissue from the bathroom. When she returned I blew my nose and tried to clean myself up from crying. Normally I'd be really embarrassed at anyone seeing me cry.

Before now, Haley and my mom were the only two people who'd ever seen me cry. Haley had come to watch me at my first basketball game in middle school. Unfortunately, my dad had come too so he could cheer Nathan on. After the game he'd come up and hugged Nathan, telling him he was proud of him. Then he'd looked at me with contempt in his eyes and walked on past without a word. I'd charged out of the gym, ran to the river court, and sat on the bleachers crying. Haley had found me there. She'd known where I would go. She'd sat with me, just like Peyton. Afterwards I told her I didn't want to play basketball anymore.

She asked, "Why, Luke?"

I'd said, "I don't want to be a part of their world. It'll be like he has a part of me."

Haley had taken my hand. She led me up to the roof on the café. She'd said, "They can't take it, if you don't give it. Let them have their world, we'll make our own." She'd handed me some chalk and we'd sat up on the roof of the café, just drawing and talking. Afterwards, that became 'our' spot. We'd talked to my mom and the golf-course, Christmas lights, and the daily routine of going up there had begun.

Peyton drew me from my memories by touching my knee.

"Lucas, I love you. I think you know that." I winced at her words. How much easier it would be if I just loved her the way she loved me.

She continued, "If you don't care for me like that though, I think I can handle it. I understand what its like to love someone that you never thought you would. If you need to be with Haley, I understand. At the very least, I want us to be friends, ok?"

Peyton wanted to be friends with me? Even after I'd told her I wanted to be with her and then turned right around and fell in love with my best friend? I smiled. She really was a great person. She would make some guy very lucky one day. She was so strong and she didn't even know it.

I nodded, "Peyton. I would love to be your friend."

She smiled but the smile had a little bit of hurt in it, "Ok. So tell me all about it. About you and Haley. About what happened tonight. And about what you're going to do about it."

I told her the whole sordid story. How in pretending to like my best friend, I'd fallen in love with her. How I'd kind of hinted at liking her that day. How for a few hours, I'd felt that she might love me back. And how when she'd seen me kissing Peyton, she'd looked really hurt.

Peyton looked at me, "Ok. So how are you going to fix it?"

"Fix it? There's no fixing this Peyton. She'll never forgive me."

Peyton sucked her teeth, "You love her, Luke?"

"You know I do."

"Well then fight for her, damn it! Show her that she is always going to be the 'one' for you. If she takes a long time to come around, then she takes a long time to come around. You wait for her as long as it takes and make sure she knows that. If she's the person you love then she will forgive you in time."

I asked the hard question, "What if she doesn't?"

Peyton averted her eyes, "Then…maybe…she's not the person you thought she was."

I shook my head, "No…she's Haley. She's bright, honest, caring, and loving."

Peyton looked back at me. "Well…then you have nothing to worry about, do you?"

I clenched my fists, a new resolve building in me. I would fix this. I would show Haley that I loved her. I'd make sure she knew how incredible she was. I would be the man she needed me to be. I could only hope that she would see it in the end.


	9. Chapter 9

***A/N-Ooh…super long chapter, sorry but there was a lot of stuff that I had to cover. Hope you all enjoy and pls keep reading/reviewing! Thanks!***

Chapter 9(Haley)

Beat down in the Key of Happy

I woke up the next morning, feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. I was stuck in a morning fog, not really sure what was happening, where I was, or who was sleeping next to me. I turned over to see Nathan laying there curled up next to me. Ooookay….what the heck had happened last night?

I retraced all the steps I had taken last night. I'd walked into the Peyton and Lucas heartbreak. I'd run out. I'd gone to the café. I'd met Nathan there. We'd kissed. He'd told me I needed some fun. He'd taken me back to Tim's party. I'd drunk a lot. Nathan had driven me home. We'd kissed some more. After that, everything was a bit of a blur. Holy shit! Had I slept with him? Had I lost my virginity while I was drunk?

I grabbed a magazine from my nightstand and whacked Nathan hard in the face with it. He woke up immediately, sputtering, "What the hell?" He sat up but I jumped off the bed.

"I don't believe you!" I screamed.

He held out his hands, "Hales, calm down, ok?"

"No it's not ok! You knew how vulnerable I was last night! I was DRUNK, Nathan! You took advantage.

He got off the bed and reached for me but I slapped his hands away, "Haley, be quiet, ok? Your parents are going to hear you."

"I don't care!"

He held up his tanned fingers, counting off his points, "One, if you'll look, you and I are both still wearing the clothes we were last night. Two, I came to take you home. I made sure you got up here ok but you asked me to stay. I laid down on the floor but you told me that I could sleep in the bed too. Three, I never touched you, other than when you kissed me as I was bringing you in here but I stopped you. Four, I would never, ever take advantage of you. And five, you threw up on me…twice."

I looked down at his shorts and saw a discolored spot that looked like someone had scrubbed at it really hard with water, but it hadn't come out. I grimaced, "Really? Twice? Was it totally gross?"

Nathan started laughing and pulled me into a hug, "Completely and utterly gross." As my anger faded away it hit me how much my head was hurting and how much I felt like throwing up again. I must have made a gagging noise because Nathan darted away quicker than I've ever seen anyone move.

He held my wastebasket in front of my face, "Use the trashcan this time!"

I breathed deep, calming my stomach and pushed the trashcan away. "Chill out, I think I'm going to be fine."

I sat down on the bed and he sat next to me, brushing my hair behind my ear. "You'll be fine, Haley. Just drink a lot of water. It's only like seven, so you have time to get ready for school. I'd better go, though. I gotta get a shower and change before school. I don't want to be wearing your dinner all day."

I grimaced, "Sorry about that."

He got up and kissed me on the forehead, "No problem, holding your hair while you throw up was on my list of things that I had to do before I died."

He blew me a kiss goodbye and walked over to my bedroom window. He slid it open and looked down. "Uh, Haley. The tree is gone."

"What?"

"Well I noticed when you were tutoring me, that there was a tree next to your room but its gone."

"Oh, yeah. My dad cut that down a week ago."

He poked his head farther out the window, "Damn. That's a long way down. If I don't make it, tell my mother I loved her."

I laughed, "Nathan, stop. If it's only seven, you can just leave out the front door. My parents don't usually get up until noon at least."

He pulled himself back in the window, "Really? I don't have to take the plunge of death?"

I shook my head and immediately regretted doing it as the room spun.

"Okay. I'll go home and change and be back to pick you up for school."

"Pick me up?"

"Yeah, it would be hell to have to walk to school with a hangover."

He kissed me again on the forehead and slid out my door, closing it softly behind him. I heard one of the stairs creak loudly as he stepped on it and a muffled, "Damn it!" from Nathan.

I laid back on my bed and stared up at my ceiling. My heart still ached but maybe being with Nathan would put a scab over the cut. He was nice, funny, and not bad on the eyes. Sure, I didn't think I'd ever love him but like would be good enough, right? Like…was all I was ever going to get.

I went to take a shower and put on my happy face for school and for facing Lucas. Nathan picked me up as promised. He held the door of his black mustang open and did a short bow, "Your carriage awaits my lady."

I laughed and slid into the leather seats. I felt warmth on my butt and after a moment of shock, I realized that Nathan's car must have seat warmers. Nathan slid in and started the engine. We got to school in record time but I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. I'd rather walk in the freezing cold with Lucas, than ride in any fancy car.

Nathan got out and ran around to my side, yelling, "Don't! I'll get it!" I shook my head, laughing. He was silly. He pulled open my door and let me out. He took my book bag from me and put it over his shoulder with his. Then, he put his arm around my shoulders as we walked to class. His warmth felt nice but not right. It felt wrong. Like an annoying weight on my shoulders instead of the comfort he meant it to be. I swallowed the feeling and forced myself to lean into his embrace. I had to make this work. I needed this to work. Nathan was nice and he cared about me. I needed him to make me forget about Lucas.

We walked across the parking lot and into the courtyard. That's when I saw them. Lucas and Peyton. They were sitting at one of the stone tables, deep in conversation. She was sitting next to him. She had her hand on his shoulder. He was looking into her eyes and smiling. I felt intense rage boil up within me. I'd prepared myself for this moment but it hadn't done any good.

As if he felt my angry eyes upon him, Lucas turned to look at me. I saw something in his eyes. (or did I just imagine it?) He jumped up and started towards me but then I think he really looked at me. He looked at Nathan's arm around me. He looked at me leaning into it. He looked at the anger in my eyes. I saw something inside him die (or did I just imagine it?)I forced a smile on my face. I forced myself to look happy. I saw him smile back at my smile but his looked shattered.

He finished walking up to me and I felt Nathan's arm tighten around my shoulders. My heart and head struggled inwardly with the impulse to shake him off and run to Lucas. My head won, just barely. I stayed in his arms.

Lucas looked at me, the way that only Lucas could look at me. The way that made my knees turn to jelly.

"Hey, Hales. Can I talk to you?"

I forced myself to be calm, cool, confident, not torn apart inside. "Sure."

He waited for a second and then looked at Nathan. "Alone?"

I looked up at Nathan, "Could you give me a minute" I choked on the next word, "sweetie?"

Nathan lit up and Lucas wilted (or did I just imagine it?). Nathan leaned down and kissed my cheek, "Sure thing, baby." I looked at Lucas and saw his fists clenched and his jaw working. It seemed like he was fighting something.(or did I just imagine it?)

Nathan slid away from me and I sighed to have his weight off my shoulders. "I'll be inside when you're done talking to Lucas."

I nodded, my attention already focused on the boy in front of me. My Lucas. Just seeing him made everything better. My headache dimmed, my stomach calmed, my heart however was fluttering all over the place.

He smiled at me hesitantly and scuffed his shoe on the pavement, a nervous habit he's had since we were 10 and I fell in love with him all over again.

"So…ummm. I know what that you saw us last night." He jerked his head back towards where Peyton was still sitting, watching us. "Peyton and me, I mean."

Why did he have to bring that up? I felt my heart start cracking again. He was going to tell me that I was a great friend. He was going to explain how much he loved Peyton. He was going to tell me that I'd just been a sort of substitute until he could have her again. Like hell he was!

Lucas continued, "Haley, the truth is…"

I held up my hand, "Whatever you need to say, Luke, just forget it. This is how it should be. We were stupid for playing that dating-game with each other. We shouldn't have pretended to be anything but friends. That's what we are and that's how it will always be, right?"

Lucas looked upset,(or did I just imagine it?) "Yeah, of course, Haley. But…"

I cut him off again, "No, but. We both got what we wanted. I've got Nathan and now you've got Peyton. I'm really happy." I forced a smile. "Nathan is a great boyfriend."

Lucas looked shocked, (or did I just imagine it?) "He's your boyfriend? Since when?"

"Since, we went out last night." I had to force this into him. I had to hurt him how he'd hurt me. "Since, we kissed last night. And since, he spent the night with me last night."

I saw pain etched across Lucas' face(or did I just imagine it?), even though he tried to hide it. He probably would have been successful too, but it was me and I knew every emotion he had. I wanted him to know that I'd moved on. That I wasn't going to waste my time, pining over him. Sure, I made it seem like Nathan and I had sex when really I'd just puked on him a couple of times and passed out. But, that's what I needed Lucas to believe. He had to believe I liked someone else so that he could go on with Peyton. So he wouldn't feel awkward being my friend again. If he thought, what he probably assumed was a little crush I had on him, was over, then he'd be able to be my friend again. I could handle seeing him with Peyton, as long as I could see him. Not having him was more than I could bear though.

I saw Lucas tremble, (or did I just imagine it?) "Well, congratulations, Hales. You always did like Nathan."

I forced a smile, "You're right I always have." I always liked Nathan, I always loved you, is what I really wanted to say. But I didn't. I didn't reach out and touch Lucas like I wanted to. I didn't press my lips against his like I wanted to. I didn't whisper words of love to him like I wanted to.

Instead, I looked back and Peyton. "Peyton is waiting on you. Nathan is waiting on me, too. I'll see you during lunch, ok?"

Lucas swallowed hard (or did I just imagine it?)

He watched me walk away. He stared after me with love reflected all over him. He ran after me, grabbed me, spun me around and kissed me hard. (I imagined it)

In real life, he looked at me, then turned and walked back to Peyton. I turned and walked away to Nathan, alone.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10(Lucas)

All I Need Is You

I walked numbly back over to where Peyton was sitting. I sat down heavily on the bench next to her, unbelieving that Haley was with Nathan.

"Sooooo, I'm guessing the whole confessing your feelings for her thing didn't go well?"

I just looked at Peyton.

"Okay. That's a no…Don't worry, Luke. She'll come around."

"No she won't. She's with Nathan."

Peyton flinched back like I was about to slap her, "Nathan? As in my ex Nathan? Jerk Nathan? Haley's with him?"

I nodded and looked down at the cold, concrete.

Peyton grabbed my arm, "Luke, seriously you could treat Haley so much better than he'll be able to. When him and I dated, he was an ass to me. I know you don't want Haley to go through the same thing. So, fight for her like we talked about. I mean, don't physically kick Nathan's ass, even though that would be awesome to see, but show Haley that you want to be with her. Tell her how you feel and then let her choose who she wants to be with."

I shook my head, "No."

Peyton looked shocked again, "No?"

"No. She looked happy today when I walked over. If she can be happy with him, I'm not going to get in the way of that. As long as he treats her right, if that's who Haley wants to be with…I can't force her to choose like that. If she has someone who cares for her and she cares for them…I just want to see her happy."

Peyton sucked her teeth, "But why don't you just march right over there and lay down the law. You know? Tell her to make a choice."

"Because….I love her."

Peyton sighed and was about say something but Brooke bounced up.

"Hey second cutest new couple in Tree Hill! I would give you guys first but I saw Haley and Nate walking into school and it was perfection" She sat down next to Peyton and put her hand over her heart, sighing. "I must say, I don't like to toot my own horn but am I a great matchmaker or what?"

Peyton leaned over, "'Tooting your own horn?' You certainly do that a lot, but I thought we were going to call it 'Brooking yourself'"

"Ack! P. Sawyer!" Brooke smacked Peyton lightly on the arm and stuck her tongue out at her. Brooke rolled her eyes and turned her attention to me, "Broody, ignore everything your Blondie girlfriend tells you and give me all the dirty details about how you two finally hooked up."

I started to tell her, "Umm." But she interrupted me.

"Don't be ashamed to tell me anything. You know P. Sawyer is going to give me the breakdown later anyways."

I was going to answer again but Peyton cut me off, "Brooke, Lucas and I are going to be just friends for a while."

Brooke's face fell, "Friends? With benefits?"

Peyton answered for me again, "No. Just friends."

Brooke clucked her tongue, "No kissing, no making out, no Brooking each other? Where the hell is the fun in that?"

Peyton laughed and stood up. She held her hand out to Brooke. "Come on. We need to get to class and so does Lucas." She looked at me. Her green eyes bright. "Don't worry Lucas…I won't give her any 'dirty details.'"

Brooke groaned at the mention of class and the lack of dirty details but she got up off the bench and linked her arm in Peyton's. I watched them walk off; glad to have found out that Peyton was such a good friend. She wouldn't mention Haley to Brooke even though they were best friends.

I sighed and stared down at the cold, concrete table. I heard the bell rang but I couldn't move. I'd just had a realization, talking to Peyton. I was going to do it. I was going to leave Haley alone, let her be happy. If Nathan was the guy for her, then I couldn't get in the way of that. I had to truly show my love for her by letting her go.

A month passed. Then another one. Things stayed the same but everything changed. Things stayed the same. I worked at the café. I went to school. I played ball down by the river court. Everything changed. Haley started figuring out our shifts so we wouldn't work together. I avoided Haley in the halls. Haley never came to cheer me on while I played basketball. Things stayed the same. I read books with deeper meanings. I worked on the novel that I'd probably never finish. I went up on the roof at my mom's café. Everything changed. The books no longer struck a nerve inside me. My writing all turned into Haley somehow, loving her, losing her, needing her, always her. Haley never met me on the roof to play mini-golf, to have water balloon fights, or to just talk.

My life changed, day by day. I stopped answering Haley's calls and eventually she stopped calling me. I started hanging out with Peyton a lot and by default started hanging out with Brooke a lot. Everyone at the school assumed that Peyton and I were dating. She denied it. So everyone at school assumed that Brooke and I were dating. She denied it. So everyone at school assumed we were involved in some kinky threesome. I denied it. However, some of the guys patted me on the back and grinned at me weird.

Practice was hell. Nathan was there. But the weird thing was, he felt like someone who could be my brother now. He was decent to the rest of the guys, helping them with their footwork and dunks. Of course, he didn't really talk to me but he included me more in drills and stuff. He wasn't nice but he was civil. It was starting to become really hard to hate him.

But oh God did I hate him. I would see them together, in the halls. He would wrap his arm around her shoulders like she was his and she would smile into his face like he was hers. Except it should be me there. It should be my arm and her smile. My love and her love. She caught me looking a few times but I always turned away. She would try to talk to me sometimes but I always walked away. She would sit near me in class sometimes but I always moved away.

I saw the hurt I was causing her. Part of me(the lesser part) was glad of it. Let her hurt like she was hurting me. Because lets face it. She wasn't just hurting me, she was killing me. Brooke and Peyton saw it. They would surprise me at work with a batch of burnt cookies. Or they would take me to a basketball game and even though they meant well, they would just sit there talking about how cute all the guys were. They would take me to action movies or sports movies and then start a popcorn fight with one another.

In short, they were great friends but I must have been a hard crowd to impress. Nothing really mattered to me anymore. My world had gone to gray, black and white, and now it was just black.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11(Haley)

Somewhere Only We Know

How had everything gotten this way? Lucas had stopped talking to me. He'd started being a man-whore and was now seeing Brooke and Peyton at the same time. He glared at me like he hated me and never returned my calls. I even stopped trying to work with him and started working around him because it was obvious he hated me now. I loved him but he didn't even seem to like me.

Nathan rolled over and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Hey. Hales, where's your head at?"

I rolled over on my bed so that I was facing him, "Sorry? What?"

He pushed a piece of hair behind my ear, "Your parents left for dinner about thirty minutes ago. That means we've had thirty minutes of uninterrupted Nathan and Haley make-out time and you've barely spoken two words to me."

I sighed, sitting up in bed, "I'm sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind."

He sat up with me and kissed me on the lips. "Anything I can help with."

I smiled. He really was great. "No, really I'm fine."

He smiled back and me and leaned in for another kiss. His tongue slipped between my lips and he gently pushed me back down onto the bed. I tried to quell a small urge to panic as I felt his hand begin to pull at the bottom of my shirt. He just tugged it up a little, just so my stomach was showing. He traced a random pattern around my belly button with one rough finger and then he pushed it up further. I wanted this. Didn't I? I'd known where this was going for some time now. Every now and again, I thought I wanted it. Just get it over with. Maybe by giving him my body, he'd be able to take a little bit of my soul too. Doing this would bring us closer and push Lucas farther away. Wouldn't it?

Nathan leaned away from me a little bit and whispered in my ear, "Do you wanna?"

I was going to answer, answer…yes or no? I honestly don't know which but he put his mouth back to mine and silenced me. He started unbuttoning my pants, his deft fingers working quickly. He leaned closer to me, starting to push my jeans down. His kisses felt nice. Good. If I was another girl…or maybe if I wasn't in love with someone else, his kisses wouldn't burn me the way they did. I felt like I was in a huge fire. Not the good kind, not the passion kind. The kind that suffocates, the kind that kills. I choked on the smoke and felt the flames licking at my heels. I was burning at the stake. I was gasping for air that wasn't there. I was breathing in my own death. I was dying.

"Stop!" I shoved Nathan so hard he rolled off my bed. I jumped up and started fastening my pants and straightening my shirt.

"Haley!" Nathan stood up, looking completely disheveled. "What the hell?!"

I felt tears spring to my eyes. He looked so angry. God no. Please, not when I need him to be his most understanding.

I heard my voice trembling as I spoke, "Nathan…please. I just…I just can't."

He balled up his fists and I flinched but he just took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Haley. This is really, really frustrating."

What? Now was time to go on the offensive, "Because I won't have sex with you?"

"No because you don't love me!"

I pulled back, it was finally out. He'd just thrown it out there and we had to deal with it now. How had he known?

He leaned over the bed and I was shocked to see tears in his eyes. His whole body screamed anger but his face cried sadness. "I want you, to want me, Haley. It's as simple as that. Don't you understand? I've finally found the courage to be the guy that I've always wanted to be. And I found that courage with you. You can't know how hard I've been trying to be there for you, to persuade you to be mine, to show you that I care. But it just never seems to be enough, does it?"

I opened my mouth but no words came out.

He continued, "Every time I touch you and you flinch, it hurts. Every time I look at you and you look away, it hurts. Every time I kiss you and you cut it short, it hurts. And every day, waking up, hoping that today will be the day that I'll finally get all of you and it never happens…it fucking hurts, Haley."

With that he picked up his jacket off the floor and walked towards my bedroom door.

Afraid of the pain that I'd caused, I called after him, "Nathan…don't leave like this, please."

He turned towards me. Pain was etched across his face but his eyes softened, "Haley, I don't like having just a piece of you. Whatever it is, holding you back let it go. I'm right here and whatever it is you're punishing yourself with, it isn't worth it. This hasn't been easy but…I'll call you tomorrow. And the next day and the next if that's what it takes. I'll show you, Haley. I'm a good guy. I won't let you down. I help you whenever I can. I'll treat you right. I'm going to be a great guy, Haley and I'm going to be that guy for you."

With that he crossed the room and kissed me gently on the forehead. I felt tears start sliding down my face and I heard my bedroom door click gently closed.

What a horrible person I'd become. Nathan deserved better than me. Right then, I needed some therapy. I needed some memories of a better time, memories of love.

The rooftop of Karen's café was dark until I flicked the switch and everything lightened. I sat down, soaking everything in. My heart and the darkness surrounding me didn't seem so full of shadows to haunt me. Coming up here was like a balm to my bruised and battered soul. Here I was as close to Lucas as ever. I could still pretend he was going to walk up behind me, hug me, and talk to me way into the early hours of the morning. I felt more tears flow as memories of Nathan's face and Lucas' love mingled into a painful montage in my brain.

I was so lost in my grief that I didn't hear him. Not until he spoke.

"Haley?"

I knew that voice. I cherished that voice. I needed that voice. Was I imagining things? I turned around to see him walk towards me and knew that it was real enough. If it wasn't real, I never wanted to know the truth.

He sat down next to me, his long legs stretching out before him, his upper thigh barely grazing mine. This was such sweet torture. Having his warm body so close to mine, his warmth caressing my skin but not being able to touch him, exquisite agony.

"Why are you crying?" His voice sounded rough and it made me look at him. Really look at him. He'd lost weight. There were shadows under his eyes that hadn't been there before. His cheek bones seemed hollow and his eyes seemed empty. He looked like he'd gone to hell and returned half dead. Was this guy really my Lucas?

He touched my shoulder, briefly and then pulled his hand away. He cleared his throat, "Haley…why are you crying?"

I brushed tears away from my eyes, uselessly.

"Did Nathan do something?" He must have seen me flinch a little at the sound of his name. "He did do something didn't he?" I could hear the anger growing in Luke's voice.

"Haley, you have to tell me. If he hurt you…I swear to God…"

"No, Luke…it isn't that. We just had an argument. That's all."

He put an arm awkwardly around my shoulder, "That's not all, Haley."

I sobbed and he pulled me into an embrace. I breathed him in, even as I was crying into his T-shirt. His hands stroked my back and I felt a comfortable warmth spread over me. This was where I belonged. Here in his arms. My tears subsided but Lucas never let me go. I heard him sigh into my hair and felt his thumbs tracing little circles on my shoulder bones. The dam had been so close to breaking for such a long time.

Lucas pulled away and looked deeply into my eyes. He wiped away any lingering tears from my cheeks. I looked at him, he looked at me. We were both so broken. Together we were so whole.

I crashed my lips forward onto his, pulling him into me. I felt a second of shock from him but then his hand tangled in my hair and he pulled me closer. His tongue stroked mine and I nibbled his bottom lip. He pulled away a bit and nibbled down my neck. Kissing and sucking as he went. I let out a soft sigh. Lucas. Lucas. Lucas.

He breathed my name into my ear, "Ahhh…Haley. Haley. Haley."


	12. Chapter 12

***A/N: I've been debating over and over how to do this next chapter and I'm still not sure if this is how it should be but I'm semi-satisfied with it, hope you all like it too! As always thanks for reading/reviewing, it makes my day!***

Chapter 12(Lucas)

Melt the Sugar

There are certain things I'll always remember from that night. The way Haley kissed me, the way she felt in my arms. The way she trembled, the way she made me tremble. The way her hair smelled. The way her fingers traced my jaw line. The way she nibbled my ear. The way we seemed frantic, desperate to love each other. The way we moved slowly, like time never would have meaning again. Like hours, minutes, seconds, faded away in the flow of our emotions. The way she felt under me. The way she felt. Skin, legs, hair, fingers, clothes, sheets, hearts, souls, love…all tangled up on my bed. All tangled up in my heart. All my thoughts, hopes, dreams, and wishes, tangled up in Haley. From that moment on everything, always and forever would be tangled up in Haley.

I awoke the next morning to find that I was still dreaming. Haley was there. My arm was around her bare shoulders and I was hugging her close to my chest. She had one arm lazily thrown across my stomach and her face was buried in my neck. Joy rushed through me. To be like this every day, to wake up with Haley…what more could I ever want out of life. I brushed her shoulder blade with my thumb, reveling in how soft her skin was. She murmured something in her sleep and cinched her arm tighter around me. It seemed like now, everything in the world made sense. My world was Haley. My life was Haley. My future was with Haley.

I felt Haley stir in my arms. She stretched and her eyes fluttered open. She looked around groggily and then her beautiful eyes settled on me. I smiled at her. Even with morning hair she still looked great. Of course, my hands running through it last night was mainly the cause of her morning hair. As if reading my mind, Haley rolled off me and put her hand to her face.

Her voice came out muffled because of her hand but I heard her anyway, "Oh my God, Lucas."

I felt a slight tightening in my heart. Was that a good reaction or a bad reaction? What if she didn't see last night as something beautiful but as a mistake? What if she hadn't wanted me at all but had been vulnerable because of Nathan? Had I taken advantage of my best friend? Doubt pulled on me, well; she certainly seemed ok with it last night…more than ok really.

Unsure of what to say but knowing I needed to do something; I reached over and gently pulled Haley's hand off her face. She had tears in her eyes. Ok…so that means she thinks it was a mistake. I let go of her hand, shocked. How could anyone in the world view something so beautiful as anything less? Trying not to feel hurt and rejected I got out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers I had laying on the floor. When I looked back at Haley she was just watching me. I pleaded with my eyes for her to say something, anything but she didn't. She just sat there. Anger stiffened my back and tightened my lips. I reached down and grabbed a T-shirt off the floor, too and slid it on.

"Well…I gotta go do…something, catch you later, Hales." I walked over to my bedroom door, opened it, walked through it, and closed it. I grabbed at my chest and leaned back against the door. How could something hurt so badly?

I almost fell on my ass when Haley jerked the door open behind me. I fell back into her but she immediately shoved me off. I turned to see her standing, angrily, in my doorway with one of my T-shirts on. Of course, on her it looked more like a really short dress. One thing I was sure of…Haley was pissed.

Her face screwed into utter rage, "Screw you, Luke!"

I was shocked for a second but lashed back out because how the hell could she be mad at me? "Screw you too, Haley…Oh wait, been there, done that."

Hurt flashed in her eyes but she came out fighting. "How dare you?! I've tried, Lucas. I've tried so hard not to love you because you're the one person that could hurt me, the one person who has hurt me!"

I opened my mouth but no sounds came out. She'd tried not to love me? _Tried_…as in, she failed? She loved me?

Tears started pouring down Haley's face but her voice was strong as she said, "I gave you everything! My heart, my soul, my friendship…not to mention my virginity! You have not right to treat me just like any other girl you've slept with. I'm not Brooke or Peyton! This…what happened last night that meant something to me! It hurts _me_, Luke! It just hurts."

With that she turned and ran back into my room. I saw her gathering up her clothes that had been scattered around the floor but I still couldn't move. She wasn't Brooke or Peyton? What the hell was that about? Last night meant something to her?

Hearing my door to the outside slam brought me out of my revere.

"Shit." I ran to the door and slung it open. I saw Haley, still wearing my T-shirt, walking fast down the side-walk. I sprinted and finally caught up with her.

I grabbed her arm and made her turn around to face me, "Haley James…do you…do you love me?"

Tears started anew in her eyes; they poured down her face and were followed by the most beautiful words I've ever heard, "Of course I do, Lucas."

I breathed in and out, unable to believe my ears. But I had heard it. Haley loved me. My Haley. I allowed myself a little smile and cupped Haley's face in my hands. With my thumbs I gently brushed her tears away. A shaky smile started on her face and I echoed it with one of my own.

I'm afraid my voice shook as I said, "Haley…you have to know. There's never been anyone but you. It was always you. Always, Haley. I've always loved you."

With that Haley leapt up into my arms and her lips warmed mine. I held her tight, not ever wanting to let go.

She gently broke our kiss and smiled, "Always, Lucas, always and forever."

***Another A/N-Lol I totally stole Naley's line…anyways hope this chapter was ok…look for the conclusion soon, we still have some loose ends to tie up.***


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13(Haley)

A Sorta Fairytale

I felt Lucas' strong arms around me as he pulled me towards his warm body. We were back on his bed, sharing kisses and whispered declarations of a love that would last forever. He kissed his way down my neck and I shivered at the way his lips made me feel. One of his broad hands stroked up my leg and his thumb traced a circle on the skin of my thigh. With a smile on his face, he broke our kiss and looked down at me. Being looked at with such love and adoration was a bit unnerving. What if I couldn't live up to being the person he thought I was?

Lucas leaned down again and placed a quick kiss on my lips, "Stop worrying, Haley."

"How did you know I was worrying?"

"You got that look. The one you get when you're thinking about something."

I laughed, "You, mister, should not know that look yet."

"Just because we've only been dating for about thirty minutes doesn't take away the fact that we've been friends our whole lives…Trust me I know your looks."

I smirked at him, "So we're dating?"

Lucas smirked back at me, "Well let's see…I just kind of assumed with making love last night and then declaring love this morning."

I laughed and pulled him down to kiss me again. When we pulled away, I said, "Well you assumed right. I'm your girlfriend whether you like it or not."

He brushed a stray piece of hair out of my face, "Well, it's a good thing I like it, then."

He leaned down to kiss me again and I pulled him down and deepened the kiss. One of his hands drifted down and began pulling up the T-shirt I was wearing. He stroked my stomach and my hipbone with his fingers and I felt warmth spread throughout my whole body. I broke away from his lips and kissed down and back up his neck. When I reached the spot right below his jaw line, I felt goosebumps spread across his skin and he let out a soft moan. I smiled to myself, I'd found his spot. He lifted his head and then captured my lips with his own for a really passionate kiss. Now it was my turn to groan. I could live off this.

Suddenly Lucas' door to the outside burst open. I barely had time to register it before none other than Brooke Davis walked into the room.

"Alright Broody, time to….." Lucas rolled off me so I saw Brooke's eyes take in the whole scene and an incredulous smile spread across her face. She smirked as she finished her sentence, "get up."

I reached down and pulled the sheets up to cover my body seeing as how I was just wearing a big T-shirt and my underwear. "Uhh…Brooke, kinda not dressed here."

She waved her hand and dismissed my objection, "Please Tutor Girl, I wear less than that at the beach." She held out a hand and pointed at each of us with one finger, "You…and you. Together. That was unexpected, but sorta perfect."

She tilted her head and looked at Lucas like he had some explaining to do but Lucas looked just as dumbfounded as I felt.

When it was clear that no explanation was coming Brooke leaned out the door and yelled, "Peyton! Get in here Tutor Girl and Broody are having sex!"

"What?" I heard Peyton yell back.

"Brooke!" Lucas and I yelled at the same time.

Brooke turned back to us and said, "Really Broody, we've been over here trying to cheer you up all this time and all you really needed was a little tutoring?"

I looked at Lucas skeptically, "_They've_ been over here, _cheering_ you up?"

He shrugged, "Well, when you put it that way, no. But they have been trying to cheer me up." He smiled, sheepishly, "I've been kinda down lately."

Brooke said, "Yeah…Peyton's getting the cake out of the car, she should be in, in just a second. I don't know what's taking so long." She leaned out the door and shouted, "Peeeeeyton! Hurry up! Sex is taking place!"

Lucas and I shouted, "Brooke!" again but she didn't seem fazed. She just crossed her arms and smiled at both of us.

I looked at Lucas, "Cake?"

"Well, yeah. Saturday is cake day."

"Cake day?"

Brooke chimed in, "Well, Fridays we bake cookies. Saturday is cake day."

I'm sure I looked really confused but just then Peyton came staggering up to the door carrying what looked like a birthday cake.

"Jesus, Brooke…You totally could've helped me. Now what were you screaming about Chex Mix?"

Brooke smiled and just pointed towards Lucas and I on the bed. I saw Peyton's mouth drop open but then she smiled in a totally happy way and said, "Finally."

I gestured for her to come in, "Welcome to my most embarrassing nightmare, Peyton. Please come in."

"No, Haley. It's ok. Come on, Brooke, let's go. Give them their privacy." With that Peyton started tugging on Brooke's arm.

Brooke put on a pouty face, "Buuuuut Peyton. Cake Day…Dirty details"

I held up my hand to stop them, "Wait you guys, if I'm going to endure all this embarrassment. I'm at least going to get cake out of it."

Brooke squealed and clapped her and launched herself to sitting at the end of the bed. Peyton rolled her eyes and brought the cake and the forks she had in her hand and sat on the end of the bed too.

************************************************************************

All in all I have to say, hanging out with Brooke and Peyton wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. We all sat around eating cake and laughing and joking. It was also nice to be close to Lucas this way. We sat really close together and he fed me with his fork. So far, we hadn't had time to just be a couple around other people and it was nice. I asked what was up with cake day and Lucas informed me that these two girls had taken it on themselves to keep him cheered up when he was kind of down about me. I smiled at both of them, that was a really nice thing to do. I might have to rethink what I believed about Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer. I'd always just thought of them as the popular girls and me as just Haley. Now I saw that they were just girls, like me. Just as I thought that, Brooke tossed a little piece of cake at Peyton and then Peyton proceeded to smear icing on Brooke's arm. I smiled again…well…maybe not just like me.

After a few minutes of eating in comfortable silence Peyton leaned forward, "So…Haley does this mean you've broken up with Nathan?"

"I knew it!" Brooke crowed.

Peyton blushed a deep red and she smacked Brooke's arm but Brooke wasn't going to be silenced. "You like Nathan, again! You like Nathan!"

Peyton leapt on Brooke and they rolled off the bed, wrestling. "Brooke, be quiet!"

Brooke just kept singing over and over, "You like Nathan." Even when Peyton managed to get her hand over Brooke's mouth you could still hear it, muffled.

Lucas leaned up to the edge of the bed, "You do, Peyton?"

Peyton's face was still red, "Well….I mean he seems to have changed a lot. Don't you think?" Then Peyton yelped and snatched her hand away from Brooke's mouth, "Jesus! You bit me!"

Brooke smiled, "I told you. You like Nathan but no…Peyton wouldn't listen would she? Nobody listens to Brooke anymore." She looked up at Peyton still holding her hand to her body, "Oh chill, Blondie, I didn't even break the skin. Boys have gotten much worse from me and haven't complained."

With that Peyton rolled off Brooke and stood up. "Well…I gotta go see him. He's probably really torn up about all this."

I sat up, quickly. "Umm, Peyton I haven't actually told him."

Peyton edged towards the door, "Well…maybe it should come from a friend. Then he, you know, in case he needs comforting. Don't you all think that's the best way? I mean if he's upset…"

"Just go get your man, Blondie!" Brooke shouted from the floor.

Peyton smiled at her and then at us and she slid through the door. Brooke leapt to her feet and grabbed her purse, "Alright you two lovebirds…I'm gonna go. I'm so going to wait by the phone for dirty details from P. Sawyer." With that she flounced out the door.

Lucas and I sat on the bed in post Brooke shock. After a few minutes Lucas smiled and pulled me back to lying down with him. "Now where were we?" I squealed at his hands danced up and down my body, pulling me closer than I would've ever thought possible.

The next morning Lucas came over to walk with me to school. I met him at the door and pulled him into a long kiss good morning. I felt him smile against my lips, "Well good morning to you too, sweetie. Ready to go?"

I sighed, "Do we have to go to school?"

Lucas gasped and felt my forehead and then reached down to my wrist and felt my pulse, "Haley James…do you feel violently ill?"

I smacked his hand away, "Haha…very funny. Let's just go." We started walking, hand in hand down the sidewalk to Tree Hill High.

When we were almost there, Lucas nudged me with one shoulder, "What's bothering you, Hales?"

I shrugged, "I guess its Nathan. He was really great to me; I hope I didn't hurt his feelings. Like what if he's really broken up about it?"

I heard Lucas chuckle next to me, "Um…I don't think that's a problem."

I looked up and saw Peyton and Nathan walking in from the parking lot, holding hands. When Nathan saw me he stopped short, kissed Peyton's hand, and then walked over to me.

"Hey, Haley."

I smiled, "Hey."

He shuffled his feet, "Look…I have realized that Peyton is the one for me. I don't regret us happening because you showed me how to be a better guy and now I can be the guy for Peyton that I always should've been. The guy that she deserves. Are we cool? I mean we can be friends, can't we?"

I smiled, this was going a lot easier than I'd originally thought, and "Of course we can be friends, Nate."

He smiled a big goofy grin and walked with Lucas I back over to Peyton. Once there he immediately looped an arm around her waist and she smiled up at him.

"Hey, Haley." Peyton said and waved at me. I smiled and gave a small wave back to her.

"Hey."

Just then Brooke walked up, "Aww look at all the cute couples. I really am a genius…Feel free to call me Cupid from now one."

I looked at her, "Brooke, these are basically the opposite couples of what you intended."

Brooke shook her head, "No need to shower me with praise, Haley. Seeing you crazy kids happy is enough reward for me."

I laughed and so did everyone else. Then suddenly I stopped, "Wait, did you just call me 'Haley'"

Everyone looked at Brooke, she shrugged. "Well duh, that's your name isn't it? For someone who's called Tutor Girl…jeez, try and keep up Haley."

With that everyone laughed again and we all, as a group walked into school together. Brooke and Peyton cracked jokes at each other and included me too. Lucas and Nathan started trading basketball tips and I smiled. In what world would I be on my way to becoming friends with Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer? And in what world would my best friend Lucas Scott be my boyfriend? And in what world would Lucas and Nathan finally talk to each other without punches being thrown?

As we all split up to go to our separate classes, Lucas kissed my cheek, Peyton and Brooke shouted, "See you at lunch, Haley." And Nathan waved bye to me.

What world could all of this be taking place in? I smiled, in a perfect world. Then the bell rang and it was time to go to Algebra. I sighed, well…maybe not a perfect world but…you get the idea.

The End

***A/N:Well this has been a really fun story to write, I hope you all have enjoyed reading it as well. Again, thanks for all of you who reviewed and read.***


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